Introduction

Sensing is all about the ability to detect or measure changes in physical properties. In the context of an electronic control system, the requirement is to translate a parameter such as temperature, pressure or movement into an electrical signal. While some sensors directly produce a voltage output, which provides the ideal input for a microcontroller-based system, the majority of sensors depend on resistive, inductive or capacitive circuit elements whose behavior varies according to a known characteristic. These sensors typically require an external circuit to convert their output into a measurable signal for capture by a microcontroller (MCU).

Introduction

The ease with which resistance can be measured, coupled with the large number of simple, low-cost devices whose resistance changes with other physical properties, accounts for the wide range of resistive sensing applications. These include measuring temperature, pressure, humidity, position, displacement, etc. using electro-mechanical devices like potentiometers or other transducers such as thermistors and piezo-resistive strain gauges.

Introduction

Capacitive sensing is all about the ability to measure the capacitance, or more often the change in capacitance, between two or more electrodes. As a technique it is frequently employed to detect proximity or position but can also be used to measure humidity, fluid level and acceleration. Because capacitive sensing supports such a diverse range of applications, solutions are found in many different markets — from industrial, automotive and medical through to consumer. And as more and more electronic products are being designed with touchpads and touchscreens we are seeing an explosion in the use of capacitive sensing technology to provide the vital human machine interface (HMI).

Open source software has become an entrenched component of embedded systems within the last decade. Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape and the key investor in LinkedIn, recently announced that “software is eating the world.” There are more instances of embedded software in the world today than any other type of software combined. It is at the heart of transportation, safety, health care, food, agriculture, defense, entertainment and therefore virtually every sector of industry that one way or another touches our everyday lives.

Semtech, a leading supplier of analog and mixed-signal semiconductors, reduced their ASIC development time by adopting Model-Based Design (with MathWorks MATLAB and Simulink). Using system models for simulation and automatic HDL generation, Semtech engineers created FPGA prototypes 50% faster, reduced verification time from weeks to days, and shortened development time by 33% compared to their previous hand-coded VHDL methodology.

C and C++ programmers very often allocate and de-allocate memory on the heap without the proper understanding on how these low-level facilities work and what happens underneath. But these memory related problems becomes a great concern in the systems with shortage of almost all the resources including memory, like embedded real-time systems. This dynamic behavior tends to be non-deterministic and the failure is hard to contain. Similarly memory allocation failure on such systems can be fatal. Unlike a desktop application, most embedded systems do not have the opportunity to pop up a dialog and discuss options with the user. Often, resetting is the only option, which is unattractive. This technical paper attempts to discuss the strategies to achieve clean code and appropriate memory management.

Integration is important in the product development world. Nearly every manmade object we come into contact with was likely the result of a team effort. As products continue to grow more complex and more integral to our lives, so do the required interactions and values amongst the development team involved. Companies now are under ever increasing pressures to differentiate through features, functions, manufacturing or materials. Products can no longer be simply passed down an assembly line of firms, receiving strategic insight, research, industrial, mechanical, electrical and other development work separately. Development programs must now allow transparency across the team, enabling each member to become highly involved with each step. Only then can we integrate goals, expertise and methodologies successfully.

This article is intended to provide status on LTE as a key technology enabler that will have impact on the entire telecom supply chain. LTE impact affects semiconductor SoC, communications networking infrastructure, mobile devices, applications and quality services transforming means of communications to a new level – higher speed, multimedia content and enriching personal experiences. The article will cover a number of important topics covering the needs for LTE, LTE market positioning and benefits, LTE market trends, deployment and applications, and LTE roadmap. The article will conclude with how Power Architecture technology is enabling differentiated solution for LTE.